Indiana Pacers: 3 things you might not know about hot shooting T.J. Warren

T.J. Warren came out with an extremely hot first half against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday. What do you need to know about the guard?

T.J. Warren has led the Indiana Pacers to a solid first half start over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday evening, scoring 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting in the first half against Philly.

This type of performance as the season ramps back up shouldn’t shock NBA fans. He’s had a quietly great year after getting traded from the Suns this offseason.

Evidently, though, some fans don’t know exactly who he is:

Warren will have to take on a more established role with the team with All-Star Domantas Sabonis out with injury.

So, what about his shooting and career at-large do you need to know about?

Let’s take a look.

T.J. Warren was traded to Pacers for just cash

During the 2019 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns traded T.J. Warren to the Indiana Pacers for nothing but cash. In fact, the Pacers walked out of the deal with some draft capital as well.

A crafty move by Kevin Pritchard and Co. (or a lame one by James Jones?) the Pacers added some impressive offensive to their roster, and Warren has come into his own with Indiana.

Cash consideration trades aren’t rare in the NBA — they’re a crafty way to inject some liquid assets to an organization that needs money to survive — but typically they aren’t done for players like Warren, who has come close to averaging 20 points per game for three straight seasons now.

The Pacers themselves historically have sold plenty of players. In fact, they hurt any shot they had at competing after joining the NBA due to financial struggles spurred by steep league dues during the ABA/NBA merger, trading plenty of stars for cash decades ago.

Presently, for a team like the Pacers looking to build around a small core and trying to remain competitive in a small market, Warren is an ancillary piece that has paid off in a huge way, especially when you consider the means the Pacers used to acquire his services.

This season, Warren is averaging 18.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.